Jacob Panetta re-signed in the ECHL after completing inclusion program following racial incident
Not long ago, one of the main stories that everyone was talking about was the incident in the ECHL involving Jacksonville Icemen defenseman Jacob Panetta and South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Jordan Subban, where Panetta made a gesture towards Subban that was deemed to be racist in nature.
Well, it appears as though Panetta is back in Jacksonville and is set to rejoin the Icemen after completing a "learning experience", arranged by the NHL's player inclusion committee.
The Icemen had originally terminated Panetta's contract following the incident, but upon learning that Panetta was taking part in a program that promotes inclusion, and the fact that he had served a lengthy suspension and was endlessly apologetic over the incident, which he is adamant was not racially motivated, the Icemen decided to extend him an offer to rejoin the team. Panetta issued the following statement on Friday:
"I want to thank the NHL Player Inclusion Committee, the ECHL, the Icemen, and my family for working with and supporting me over the past several months. This has been a positive learning experience for me, and I look forward to sharing what I've learned with my teammates, the game, and our community. I am looking forward to making a positive contribution to the Icemen and the Jacksonville community, on and off the ice."
-Panetta on his return to Jacksonville.
-Panetta on his return to Jacksonville.
Panetta had been in full cooperation with not only the ECHL, but the NHL's program even though he had explained on a number of occasions that the gesture that he made towards Subban was a "strong man" gesture, and no more than that. The two defenders had been involved in a physical altercation just moments before Panetta used the gesture.
According to reports, Panetta had visited Subban outside of the Stingrays' locker room after the game and apologized profusely for the miscommunication and the two had shaken hands.
| POLL | ||
18 MARS | 149 ANSWERS Jacob Panetta re-signed in the ECHL after completing inclusion program following racial incident Should Panetta have been allowed to re-sign with the Jacksonville Icemen? | ||
| No | 16 | 10.7 % |
| Yes, he served his sentence | 24 | 16.1 % |
| The whole thing was a misunderstanding | 76 | 51 % |
| Let's just move forward the right way | 33 | 22.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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